Yet another aviation thread.

Selfishly I'm glad this Delta debacle is happening now and not in two weeks time. I ended up booking a cash fare on them from YYZ-JFY and would not be impressed if I had to deal with something like that.

Quote: Aussie

Selfishly I'm glad this Delta debacle is happening now and not in two weeks time. I ended up booking a cash fare on them from YYZ-JFY and would not be impressed if I had to deal with something like that.

What makes you think the problem can't recur, or that the system cannot fail in some other way?

Right now, I'm getting a touch paranoid about such things. To the point that next time I travel on business, I will absolutely leave the day before.

Quote: Nareed

What makes you think the problem can't recur, or that the system cannot fail in some other way?

Right now, I'm getting a touch paranoid about such things. To the point that next time I travel on business, I will absolutely leave the day before.

Nothing at all makes me think it could reoccur. I'm sure it could. But I would assume that once they know what has happened, why it has happened and taken steps to fix the issue, the chances of a reoccurrence would be quite small. If not then I'm in trouble I suppose! Lol

Quote: Aussie

Nothing at all makes me think it could reoccur. I'm sure it could. But I would assume that once they know what has happened, why it has happened and taken steps to fix the issue, the chances of a reoccurrence would be quite small.

The chances are always small. Recent news aside, the people running the airline systems do know what they're doing and have implemented backups and safeguards.

But the odds that Southwest would fail followed closely by another airline, were even smaller. Yet it happened.

When I travel on business, usually I have a deadline and/or have to be there that day. Therefore I try to take precautions against delays, within reason.

One time my morning flight to Monterrey nearly got diverted to Guadalajara. I'd still have made it, but very likely past the deadline. Had that happened, I'm 101% certain the boss would have angrily demanded to know why I hadn't left the evening before. Even though he'd approved my travel plans and saw nothing amiss.

The odds for the diversion were small (so small it didn't actually take place). And the MEX-MTY route is well-worn with so many flights. Still, since then, if at all possible I leave the evening before.

I've been thinking about a kind of (hyper)luxury air cruise. It's probably my worst idea yet. More as it develops.

But quite likely an A380 would be overkill.

Quote: Nareed

I've been thinking about a kind of (hyper)luxury air cruise. It's probably my worst idea yet. More as it develops.

Quite a number of all premium air routes have developed over the years. The problem is that rich people, like everyone else, want to go different places at different times and some of them are quite interested in loyalty memberships. The other problem is that fluctuations in the economy make these routes more susceptible than ones that have a variety of classes.

Emirates (90 seats), Etihad Airways (81 seats), Korean Air (94 seats), and sometimes Singapore Airlines (86 seats) have figured out that the next best thing is to have an all premium upper deck on the A380. British Airways puts 212 seats on the upper deck, the maximum configuration for a space permitted by the FAA to have 315 seats.

Regular passengers can be seduced with relatively cheaper embellishments like a 13.3" viewing screen.


They may not look like luxury technology, but because of the safety engineering that has to go into every part of a plane, the average in-flight entertainment screen can cost as much as $10,000. To outfit an entire plane typically costs around $3 million dollars. They also add 13 pounds to each seat. Since most passengers are carrying a laptop or tablet with them today, the cost and weight is redundant. Seat back screens may vanish entirely from most aircraft, and you may simply have the option to rent a DVD player and some DVD's at the airport if you don't have your own system.

Quote: Pacomartin

They may not look like luxury technology, but because of the safety engineering that has to go into every part of a plane, the average in-flight entertainment screen can cost as much as $10,000. To outfit an entire plane typically costs around $3 million dollars. They also add 13 pounds to each seat. Since most passengers are carrying a laptop or tablet with them today, the cost and weight is redundant. Seat back screens may vanish entirely from most aircraft, and you may simply have the option to rent a DVD player and some DVD's at the airport if you don't have your own system.

I knew the cost of seatback screens was high, but not that it was that high. Ouch!

IMO, eventually there'll be screens on every seat, but instead of an entertainment system, passengers will use WiFi to stream content. The latter would be provided either by the airline, the WiFi provider, or the passenger's own service (Netflix, Amazon, etc.) IMO, the airlines will want to exit the content business. Though that still leaves the safety video, the airshow (if any), and the arrival video (if any).

The idea of air cruises isn't new. There are companies offering them here and there. Usually they sue small planes, usually props, and fly from small airports. a trip might be from, say, NYC to Niagara falls, then Vermont and then back. This is just to pick a small example. Passengers are driven from the airport to the city/town/tourist trap in a van or coach (ie fancy bus), and afterward to a hotel/restaurant/etc according to the itinerary. Their bags are taken to their rooms as well. Eventually they all go back to the airport and fly on to the next destination. and so on until they fly back to NYC.

In a regular cruise, passengers stay on the cruise ship, even when it's tied at port.

So suppose you take a large plane, say an A380, and modify the interior so you have 2 and 4 person staterooms in the lower deck, complete with lavatory and shower for each, and then you put amenities on the upper deck. Things like a big dining room, bar/lounge, perhaps a small casino, a small gym, etc. It's big enough to provide a pleasant ground-side stay if needed, and it can fly around the world at will.

The price would depend on the length of the trip and the number of destinations, but it would be exceedingly high (sky-high, ha ha). The idea would be to give the very rich a new kind of luxury trip to brag about. I suppose this could be "a thing" for a few years before the novelty and bragging rights, wear off.

I know it would never work. I'll get to why as time allows.

I got a glimpse at a headline yesterday that BA is slashing in half the much vaunted "banker's shuttle" from London City to JFK. That is to say, they'll do one flight per day instead of two. I can't confirm this is so.

I can't imagine they have use for a lone A318 configured as all-business for other routes. Not without one or possibly two stops along the way. It might make sense to hold it in reserve for the surviving banker's shuttle plane.

Quote: Nareed

I got a glimpse at a headline yesterday that BA is slashing in half the much vaunted "banker's shuttle" from London City to JFK. That is to say, they'll do one flight per day instead of two. I can't confirm this is so.

I can't imagine they have use for a lone A318 configured as all-business for other routes. Not without one or possibly two stops along the way. It might make sense to hold it in reserve for the surviving banker's shuttle plane.

BA only has two A318s. They may have trouble with maintenance. Each one is in the air 16:25 per day. That leaves 7:35 for embarking disembarking in both airports, and for maintenance I assume that there was only one flight once per week so they have time for longer maintenance periods. It is possible they are simply going to use one as a backup as the maintenance schedule leaves little time for problems.

The two flights from London City to JFK, BA 001 and BA003 Due to a required technical stop at Shannon, Ireland for refueling, the flight is quoted at 9 hours, 10 minutes, nearly two hours longer than a normal widebody flight. BA puts the refueling stop to clever use, having passengers clear U.S. customs and immigration during the brief stop in Shannon.

But cutbacks at Shannon mean that at Shannon First available pre-clearance slot is at 0715 local, with the last option being 1400 local. So the afternoon flight leaves way too late for pre-clearance at Shannon. I presume this is the flight they cut.

The two flights from New York JFK, BA002 and BA004 . With a quoted gate-to-gate block time of 7 hours, 15 minutes, the in-flight service is tailored for maximum sleep time so the passengers can hit the ground rested and running for a full day’s business the next day. Passengers conveniently clear customs and claim their bags so quickly that they can be at their desks or a hotel arrivals center an hour after landing in London. If you show up early at JFK you can eat dinner at the terminal, so you can go right to sleep upon boarding the plane.

I checked the flights, and as of September you still had a choice, but by December it was only BA0001/BA0002
21 Sep JFK- LCY
18:50 07:15 BA0002 $3391
21:55 10:15 BA0004 $3391

26 Sep LCY- JFK
09:45 14:10 BA0001 $5320
16:00 20:20 BA0003 $3642